Lighting device

ABSTRACT

A light device includes a transparent substrate having a first surface and a second opposite surface, an array of light-modifying elements formed on the substrate, and a light source to project light along a thickness direction of the substrate. The light-modifying elements having surfaces inclined at an angle with respect to at least one of the first surface and the second surface, and configured to diffuse light by reflecting and/or refracting incident light.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/726,773, filed Jun. 1, 2015, which claimspriority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Korean Application No. 10-2014-0067055filed on Jun. 2, 2014, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, whoseentire disclosures are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a lighting device, andmore specifically, a lighting device capable of implementing line shapedbeams having desired shapes through a pattern design and an arrangementstructure of a light source for patterns.

2. Background

In general, a lighting device is a device used for lightening a darkplace using various light sources. The lighting device is used to shinea beam to a specific object or space and to express an atmosphere of thespecific object or space in a desired shape or color.

According to the technical development of an LED (Light Emitting Diode),lighting devices in various shapes using the LED have recently come intowide use. For example, one of the lighting devices according to aconventional art includes a diffusion plate for emitting light emittedfrom an LED light source to the outside.

Most of the LED lighting devices according to the conventional art areconfigured so that light is uniformly outputted on an entire lightemitting surface. Also, in order to express the atmosphere of a specificobject or space in a desired shape or color, a color filter or a filterhaving a light permeable hole in a desired shape has been used in somelighting devices according to the conventional art.

However, when the atmosphere of a specific object or space is expressedin a desired shape or color using the LED lighting devices according tothe conventional art, the configuration of the devices becomesmechanically complicated, and as a result, it is problematic in that thedegree of freedom in design is limited, and it is difficult to installor maintain and manage the devices. As such, in order to express anoptical image with a desired shape or mood, a lighting device having asimple structure, which is easy to produce and install, has beenrequired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments will be described in detail with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a lighting device according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a lighting device according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing an optical image of the lightingdevice of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a lighting device according to stillanother embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary view showing an optical image of the lightingdevice of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a lighting device according to stillanther embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary view showing an optical image of the lightingdevice of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a partially perspective view of a lighting device according tostill another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a partially cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX of thelighting device of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrated for explaining anoperating principle of the lighting device of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a lighting device according to stillanother embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a lighting device according to stillanother embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of a lighting device according to stillanother embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIGS. 14 to 16 are exemplary views showing patterns which can be adoptedto the lighting device of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure may refer to various elements of a lightingdevice including a light guide part, a three-dimensional effect formingpart and a unit pattern. Other elements may also be described withrespect to the lighting device.

The disclosure and figures may relate to a light guide part 11 as havingdifferent shapes and/or arrangements. For example, FIG. 1 may relate tothe light guide part 11A as having a flat substrate, FIG. 2 may relateto the light guide part 11B as having a bent substrate at one side, andFIG. 4 may relate to the light guide part 11C as having a bent substrateat substantially the center.

As used hereinafter, the light guide parts 11A, 11B, 11C and othervariations shown in the figures or the disclosure may collectively bereferred to as the light guide part 11.

The disclosure and figures may relate to a three-dimensional effectforming part 12 as having different shapes and/or arrangements. Forexample, FIG. 1 may relate to the three-dimensional effect forming part12A as having an array of substantially hemispherical elements, FIG. 8may relate to the three-dimensional effect forming part 12B as havingfull triangular elements, FIG. 12 may relate to the three-dimensionaleffect forming part 12C as having truncated triangular elements, FIG. 15may relate to the three-dimensional effect forming part 12D as havingelongated hemispherical elements, and FIG. 16 may relate to thethree-dimensional effect forming part 12E as having polygonal elements.

As used hereinafter, the three-dimensional effect forming parts 12A,12B, 12C, 12D, 12E and other variations shown in the figures or thedisclosure may collectively be referred to as the three-dimensionaleffect forming part 12.

The disclosure and figures may relate to a unit pattern 121 as havingdifferent shapes and/or arrangements. For example, FIG. 1 may relate tothe unit pattern 121A as having substantially hemispherical elements,FIG. 8 may relate to the unit pattern 121B as having full triangularelements, FIG. 12 may relate to the unit pattern 121C as havingtruncated triangular elements, FIG. 15 may relate to the unit pattern121D as having elongated hemispherical elements, and FIG. 16 may relateto the unit pattern 121E as having polygonal elements.

As used hereinafter, the unit patterns 121A, 121B, 121C, 121D, 121E andother variations shown in the figures or the disclosure may collectivelybe referred to as the unit pattern 121.

Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present disclosure that an ordinaryperson skilled in the art can implement will be described with referenceto the accompanying drawings. The embodiments in the specification andthe constructions shown in the drawings are provided as a preferredembodiment of the present disclosure, and it should be understood thatthere may be various equivalents and modifications which couldsubstitute at the time of filing. In addition, when it comes to theoperation principle of the preferred embodiments of the presentdisclosure, when the known functions or functions are seemed to makeunclear the subject matters of the present disclosure, they will beomitted from the descriptions of the disclosure. The terms below aredefined in consideration of the functions of the present disclosure, andthe meaning of each term should be interpreted by judging the wholeparts of the present specification, and the elements having the similarfunctions and operations of the drawings are given the same referencenumerals. As used herein, the singular forms are intended to include theplural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a lighting device according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure;

Referring to FIG. 1, a lighting device 10 according to the presentembodiment includes: a light guide part 11; a three-dimensional effectforming part 12; and a light source part 13. Here, the three-dimensionaleffect forming part 12 converts an incident beam irradiated from thelight source part 13 to the inside of the light guide part 11 into aline-shaped beam with a three-dimensional effect. A combination of thethree-dimensional effect forming part 12 and the light guide part 11 maycorrespond to an optical member for implementing a line-shaped beam byconverting an incident beam of the light source part 13.

The light guide part 11 has a plate or film form and moves the incidentbeam from one side to the other side in an inner portion. The lightguide part 11 is a member for preparing the three-dimensional effectforming part 12, or a member for supporting the three-dimensional effectforming part 12.

Resin or glass may be used as a material of the light guide part 11,wherein the resin may include a thermoplastic polymer or a photo curablepolymer. Also, polycarbonate, polymethylmethacrylate, polystyrene,polyethylene terephthalate, and the like may be used as a material ofthe light guide part 11, but the material of the light guide part is notlimited to these materials.

Also, the material of the light guide part 11 may be a UV curable resincontaining an oligomer, more specifically, a resin containing a urethaneacrylate oligomer as a main raw material. That is, the resin in whichthe urethane acrylate oligomer corresponding to a synthetic oligomer,and a polyacrylic polymer are mixed may be used. Of course, a monomer inwhich IBOA (isobornyl acrylate), HPA (hydroxylpropyl acrylate), 2-HEA(2-hydroxyethyl acrylate) and the like are mixed may be furtherincluded, wherein the monomer corresponds to a low boiling point anddiluted type reactive monomer. Furthermore, a photo initiator(1-hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl-ketone and the like) or an antioxidant maybe further mixed as an additive. However, this is only one example, andthe light guide part 11 may be provided using appropriate resin that hasbeen developed and commercialized, or can be implemented according tofuture technical development, and can perform a light guiding function.

A thickness t1 of the light guide part 11 may be about 0.1 mm or moreand about 10.0 mm or less. When the thickness t1 is smaller than 0.1 mm,it is difficult to property implement a line-shaped beam with athree-dimensional effect. Also, when the thickness t1 is larger than10.0 mm, it is disadvantageous in that the lighting device having aplate form becomes thick and is inconvenience for handling, and the costof materials is increased.

According to some embodiments, the thickness t1 of the light guide part11 may be about 100 μm or more and about 250 μm or less. In such a case,since the light guide part 11 has a thin film form, it can be wound on aroll or can be easily applied to an application product having a bentportion. Also, according to some embodiments, the thickness t1 of thelight guide part 11 may be about 250 μm or more and about 10.0 mm orless. In this case, since the light guide part 11 has a plate form, itcannot be wound on a roll and the like, or can be easily applied to theflat portion of an application product.

A thickness t2 of an optical member of the lighting device 10 may resultfrom adding a thickness of the three-dimensional effect forming part 12to the thickness t1 of the light guide part 11. The thickness of thethree-dimensional effect forming part 12 may be several μm to tens ofμm. Of course, according to some embodiments, when the three-dimensionaleffect forming part 12 is integrally formed with the light guide part 11by processing a first surface 111 of the light guide part 11, Thethickness t2 of the optical member including the light guide part 11 andthe three-dimensional effect forming part 12 may be identical to thethickness t1 of the light guide part 11.

The three-dimensional effect forming part 12 include a patternsequentially arranged on the first surface 111. The pattern may bereferred to as an optical pattern. The pattern has multiple unitpatterns 121. The unit patterns 121 reflect or refract incident beamstraveling in the optical member from each inclined surface of the unitpatterns and guide the beams to a first surface direction toward whichthe first surface 111 of the light guide part 11 looks, or a secondsurface direction toward which a second surface 112 looks so that thebeams can extend to first paths crossing at right angles to each patternextension direction of the unit patterns, thereby creating line-shapedbeams.

In particular, the three-dimensional effect forming part 12 of thepresent embodiment converts the incident beam irradiated from anintermediate portion of the light guide part 11 into a first line-shapedbeam extending from the intermediate portion of the light guide part 11to a first side edge of the light guide part 11, and a secondline-shaped beam extending from the intermediate portion of the lightguide part 11 to a second side edge facing the first side edge orlocated opposite to the first side edge.

Each unit pattern 121 may have approximately a triangular shape, asemicircular shape, or a polygonal section shape such as a pentagonalshape and the like. In the present embodiment, each unit pattern 121 ofthe three-dimensional effect forming part 12 has a cylindrical shapewith a semicircle-shaped section. Thus, the three-dimensional effectforming part 12, or the pattern thereof may have an uneven structure inwhich the multiple unit patterns with a semicircular pillar-like shapeare sequentially arranged in a stripe form. In addition to the structurein which the three-dimensional effect forming part 12 or the patternthereof are integrally formed with the light guide part 11 by processingone surface of the light guide part 11, the three-dimensional effectforming part 12 or the pattern thereof may be also provided in such amanner that a separate pattern layer is attached to one surface of thelight guide part 11.

The three-dimensional effect forming part 12 may be made of a materialwith a refractive index that is identical to that of the light guidepart 11, or a refractive index having a slight difference (0.2 or less)with the refractive index of the light guide part 11. Thethree-dimensional effect forming part 12 may be provided using athermoplastic polymer, a photo curable polymer, and the like.

In order to obtain a desired reflection and refraction ability from theinclined surface of the pattern 121 of the three-dimensional effectforming part 12, each inclined surface of the unit patterns 121 may be amirror surface, a mirror-like finishing surface, or a precise machiningsurface. A roughness of the inclined surface may be measured through astandard roughness Rz, and the like. In the present embodiment, thestandard roughness of the inclined surface may be about 0.8 μm or lessbased on a standard length of 0.25 mm.

The light source part 13 irradiates light from the intermediate portionof the light guide part 11. That is, the light source part 13 isdisposed to irradiate the light in a thickness direction (z-direction)of the light guide part 11. A distance between the light source part 13and the second surface 112 of the light guide part 11 may beappropriately adjusted according to intensity of the light irradiated bythe light source part 13, or according to a desired length of aline-shaped beam. Also, a distance between the light source part 13 andthe light guide part 11 may be designed according to a space allowed foran application product to which the lighting device is adopted. Thisdistance may be designed to be variable.

The light source part 13 may be configured to include an artificiallight source, such as a candle, an incandescent lamp, a discharge lamp,a halogen lamp, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) lamp, an OLED (OrganicLight Emitting Diode) lamp, and the like. Also, the light source part 13may include a natural light source, such as the light of the sun. Inthis case, the light source part 13 may include a guide member forguiding or reflecting the light of the sun, and a light exit hole (notdrawn) for irradiating an incident beam toward the light guide part 11.The light exit hole may be provided at a position in which an LED lightsource 132 is located. Hereinafter, in the embodiments, for example, anLED light source having advantages, such as low power consumption, along lifespan, a mercury-free operation and the like, will be describedas a light source of the light source part 13.

When the LED light source is included, the light source part 13includes: a substrate 131; and the LED light source 132 mounted to thesubstrate 131 and including at least one LED element. The substrate 131may be a printed circuit board and may include a driving circuit or adriving chip mounted to the printed circuit board, and the LED lightsource 132 may include an LED package. The printed circuit board may bea flexible printed circuit board.

When a resin layer is used as the light guide part 11, and a flexibleprinted circuit board is used as the printed circuit board, the flexiblelight device 10 with a thin sheet form may be implemented.

Meanwhile, according to the lighting device of the present embodiment,it is explained that the three-dimensional effect forming part 12 isdisposed on the first surface 111 of the light guide part 11, but thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto. According to someembodiments, the three-dimensional effect forming part 12 may bedisposed on the second surface 112 of the light guide part 11 oppositeto the first surface 111, or may be disposed in the inside of the lightguide part 11. Also, the three-dimensional effect forming part 12 is notlimited to being formed on the first surface of the light guide part 11only, and the three-dimensional effect forming part 12 may be disposedon both the first surface and the second surface. When a first patternand a second pattern, which are at least partially overlappinglydisposed, are arranged at both sides of the light guide part 12, variousoptical images may be implemented by relatively high condensingefficiency generated from an overlapping region compared to anon-overlapping region.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a lighting device according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, a lighting device 10A according to the presentembodiment includes: a light guide part 11; a three-dimensional effectforming part 12; a light source part 13; a housing 14; and a drivingpart 15.

The light guide part 11 has a bent portion 113. The bent portion 113 maybe a portion which is fixedly bent, or may be a portion which istemporarily bent by a fixed driving means. In the present embodiment,the bent portion 113 is a specific portion of the light guide part 11which is temporarily bent by the driving part 15.

The three-dimensional effect forming part 12 guides an incident beam,which is irradiated from a light source 132 of the light source part 13disposed in an inner side of the housing 14 to a second surface of thelight guide part 11, in an arrangement direction of multiple unitpatterns, and then guides the beam in a thickness direction of the lightguide part 11 or in a first surface direction and a second surfacedirection through refraction and reflection generated from each inclinedsurface of the unit patterns, thereby creating line-shaped beams offirst paths that cross at right angles to each pattern extensiondirection.

The line-shaped beams of the first path refer to an optical image havinga line or band shape in which the line-shaped beams extend in adirection (first path) crossing at right angles to each patternextension of the multiple unit patterns resulting from indirect lightsource effects of the sequentially arranged multiple unit patternsgenerated by reflection or refraction from each inclined surface of theunit patterns in pattern areas through which incident beams passesdirectly. Furthermore, the line-shaped beams refer to an optical imagethat looks as if the line-shaped beams are positioned far away graduallyfrom a standard point of an observation point according to an increaseof a light movement distance in the first paths, the optical imagehaving a perceptional depth or a three-dimensional effect that isgradually formed toward a thickness of the light guide part 11 or adirection appropriately vertical to the first surface of the multipleunit patterns or the pattern arrangement surface.

The light source part 13 may include a substrate 131 and an LED lightsource 132 and may be substantially identical to the light source partpreviously described with reference to FIG. 1.

The housing 14 supports an optical member composed of the light guidepart 11 and the three-dimensional effect forming part 12, and the lightsource part 13 irradiating light to the optical member. The housing 14may be disposed to receive the light source part 13 or to surround thelight source part 13.

According to some embodiments, the housing 14 may be replaced by varioussupport members. The support member may be a part of the housing of thelighting device, an inside or outside wall of a building, or a part of aspecific product or a device. Also, the support member may beimplemented using at least one part of a desktop computer body, amonitor frame, a desk, a chair, a portable terminal (a smart phone, asmart pad, etc.), a cap, clothing, a shoe, a bag, an accessory, indooror outdoor interior parts, and the like.

The driving part 15 is connected to the housing 14 and the opticalmember so that the optical member can be inclined or bent. The drivingpart 15 may be implemented so as to reduce or extend a length of a firstconnection means (a wire and the like) connecting the housing 14 and theoptical member. By reducing the length of the connection means accordingto winding of a bolt, the driving part 15 may be implemented so that thebent portion 113 can be formed in the optical member, or may beimplemented so that the bent portion 113 of the optical member can beflattened by a restoring force of a second connection means (a springand the like) and releasing of a bolt, and thus the optical member canbe returned in a flat state.

In addition to the bolt structure, the driving part 15 may beimplemented with an electric motor, and a control unit controlling theelectric motor. In this case, the control unit may be a control unit ofan application product (lighting equipment, a vehicle lamp, and thelike), or may be a separate control unit which can be connected to theapplication product. The control unit of the driving part 15 may beprovided with a driving circuit for driving the light source part 13,and a single module.

Meanwhile, the lighting device 10A according to the present embodimentmay further include a bent supporting part 16 for supporting the bentportion 113. The bent supporting part 16 may be connected to the housing14 and may be provided in a rod or pillar-like shape in a space betweenthe substrate 131 and the light guide part 11. Thus, the bent supportingpart 16 may be disposed so as to support the bent portion 113 near tothe second surface of the light guide part 11.

According to the present embodiment, the line-shaped beams of the firstpaths may be bent by the three-dimensional effect forming part 12 havingthe bent portion 113 so that line-shaped beams, three-dimensional beams,or line-shaped beams with a three-dimensional effect having variousdesired images can be implemented. Also, when a position of the lightsource is fixed, the bent portion 113 is formed in the optical memberusing the driving part 14 so that various line-shaped beams orthree-dimensional beams can be more effectively implemented.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing an optical image of the lightingdevice of FIG. 2.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the lighting device 10A according the presentembodiment is configured such that the three-dimensional effect formingpart 12 has one bent portion 113, and the light source part 13irradiates light from approximately an intermediate portion of the lightguide part to a thickness direction of the light guide part so that thelight irradiated from the light guide part can extend from theintermediate portion to each edge of both sides, thereby expressingline-shaped beams with a three-dimensional effect.

Twelve beams emitted from the LED light source form incident beamsirradiated to an intermediate region A1 of the three-dimensional effectforming part 12 of the light guide part 11 according to overlapping oftwelve semicircular regions overlap based on a light emitting surface ofthe LED light source. The intermediate region of the three-dimensionaleffect forming part 12 refers to a first region A1 corresponding to anintermediate portion in an arrangement direction of the multiple unitpatterns disposed at the light guide part 11. When an incident beam isirradiated to the first region A1, the three-dimensional effect formingpart 12 of the lighting device 10A guides movement of the incident beamwithin the light guide part using the multiple unit patterns andimplements line-shaped beam images in multiple lines traveling from thefirst region A1 to a third region A3 through a second region A2.

In particular, in the present embodiment, since the optical images arechanged at the bent portion 113 of the light guide part 11, the lightingdevice having different optical images at both sides with theintermediate portion as the center can be implemented.

The optical images described above are generated by the patterns of thethree-dimensional effect forming part that are sequentially arranged andhave each pattern extension direction extending from a first side to asecond side opposite to the first side, and crossing at right angles toa lengthwise direction based on the lengthwise direction extendingbetween the first side and the second side. Here, the reason why theline-shaped beams extending to the lengthwise direction are expressed astwelve line-shaped beams with a stripe form that are grouped into fourgroups, each group being composed of three line-shaped beams is becausethe LED light source has a structure in which four LED packages havingthree LED elements are disposed in a line, or twelve LED elementsdisposed in an arrangement similar to such an arrangement are used inthe LED light source. Of course, in addition to the method in whichtwelve LED elements are used, the twelve line-shaped beams may beimplemented in such a manner that twelve incident beams is irradiated tothe light guide part through the LED elements of a smaller number thanthe number of the twelve LED elements. Moreover, the LED elements, whichirradiate beams having the same color or beams having different colors,may be used.

Thanks to the aforesaid configuration, a first line-shaped beamtraveling from the intermediate portion, to which the incident beam isirradiated, to the first side, and a second line-shaped beam travelingfrom the intermediate portion to the second side may be implemented byconverting the incident beams irradiated from the intermediate portionof the light guide part. Also, the lighting device 10A according to thepresent embodiment may implement various optical images with athree-dimensional effect by reducing a variation in intensity of theline-shaped beams, or changing a length of the line-shaped beams throughthe bent portion 113.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a lighting device according to stillanother embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 5 is an exemplaryview showing an optical image of the lighting device of FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 4, a lighting device 10B according to the presentembodiment includes: a light guide part 11; a three-dimensional effectforming part 12 disposed on the light guide part 11; and a light sourcepart 13 irradiating light to an intermediate portion of the light guidepart 11. A combination of the light guide part 11 and thethree-dimensional effect forming part 12 may be referred to as anoptical member. The optical member has a bent portion 113 provided in afirst region A1.

The light guide part 11, the three-dimensional effect forming part 12,and the light source part 13 may substantially identical to thecorresponding constitutive elements of the lighting device previouslydescribed with reference to FIG. 1 or 3 except for the bent portion 113.According to some embodiments, the light source part 13 may include aplurality of light sources 132 disposed to be separated from each other.

The bent portion 113 is provided in the first region A1 located at theintermediate portion of the light guide part 11 to which the light ofthe light source 132 of the light source part 13 is directly irradiated.The bent portion 113 may be a part of the light guide part 11 disposedto be nearest to the light source 132. An optical image of the lightingdevice using the bent portion 113 is shown in FIG. 5.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, as the lighting device 10B according to thepresent embodiment is configured such that the bent portion is providedby bending the intermediate portion of the optical member, and the bentportion is disposed to be nearest to the light source, when the incidentbeam is irradiated to the bent portion, the lighting device mayimplement optical images spreading in a wing-like shape at both sides ofthe intermediate portion using line-shaped beams having a threedimensional effect and traveling from the bent portion corresponding tothe intermediate portion of the light guide part to the both sides ofthe light guide part.

Meanwhile, the lighting device 10B according to the present embodimentmay further include a housing, a driving part, and the like. In thiscase, the lighting device 10B may be substantially to the lightingdevice 10A previously described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 exceptfor the position of the bent portion, and the fact that the light of thelight source is directly irradiated to the bent portion.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a lighting device according to stillanther embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is an exemplary viewshowing an optical image of the lighting device of FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 6, a lighting device 10C according to the presentembodiment includes: a light guide part 11; a three-dimensional effectforming part 12 disposed on the light guide part 11; and a light sourcepart 13 irradiating light to an intermediate portion of the light guidepart 11. A combination of the light guide part 11 and thethree-dimensional effect forming part 12 may be referred to as anoptical member. The optical member may include at least one bent portion113 disposed at the outside of a first region to which the light of thelight source part 13 is directly irradiated.

The light guide part 11, the three-dimensional effect forming part 12,and the light source part 13 may be substantially identical to thecorresponding constitutive elements of the lighting device previouslydescribed with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 except for the fact that thefirst region of the light guide part 11 is disposed to be inclined withrespect to the light source 132, and two bent portions 113 are providedat both sides of the first region.

The bent portion 113 is provided in the outside of the first region towhich the light of the light source 132 is directly irradiated, namely,in a second region to which the light of the light source 132 is notdirectly irradiated. The first region (see A1 of FIG. 4) is a region ofthe light source part 11 to which the light of the light source isdirectly irradiated. In the present embodiment, the intermediate portionof the optical member corresponding to the first region is arranged asan inclined surface with a fixed inclination angle with respect to aprinted circuit board 131 or a light emitting surface of the lightsource 132. The bent portion 113 includes a first bent portion locatedat an upper side and a second bent portion located at a lower side,wherein the first bent portion and the second bent portion are providedat both side edges, respectively. The first bent portion 113 located atthe upper side is a bent portion located to be farther away from theprinted circuit board 131 or the light source 132 compared to the secondbent portion located at the lower side.

In this case, the both side edges of the optical member between whichthe first bent portion, the first region, and the second bent portion113 are disposed may be arranged parallel to the printed circuit board131 or the light emitting surface of the light source 132. The printedcircuit board 131 may be a flexible printed circuit board.

According to the lighting device 10C of the present embodiment, anoptical image implemented using line-shaped beams with athree-dimensional effect is shown as one example in FIG. 7.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the lighting device 10C according to thepresent embodiment is configured such that the bent portion is providedby bending both side edges of the intermediate portion of the opticalmember in different directions, and the intermediate portion is thendisposed to be inclined with respect to the light source. Thus, when thelight of the light source is directly irradiated to the intermediateportion, the lighting device may implement an optical image in whichmultiple line-shaped beams spread in a flame-like shape from the firstregion corresponding to the inclined intermediate portion toward thefirst bent portion 113 located to the upper side, and the multipleline-shaped beams extend in a short length to the second bent portionlocated at the lower side of the first region.

Meanwhile, the lighting device 10C according to the present embodimentmay further include a housing, a driving part, and the like. In thiscase, the lighting device 10C may be substantially to the lightingdevice previously described with reference with FIGS. 2 and 3 except foreach position of the two bent portions on the optical member, and thefact that the light of the light source is directly irradiated to theinclined intermediate portion between the two bent portions.

FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of a lighting device according tostill another embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is apartially cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX of the lightingdevice of FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrated forexplaining an operating principle of the lighting device of FIG. 8. FIG.10 corresponds to a case in which the optical member of FIG. 9 isdisposed in a state of being overturned.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, a lighting device 10D according to thepresent embodiment includes: a light guide part 11 with a flat plate orfilm form; a three-dimensional effect forming part 12 having multipleunit patterns sequentially arranged on one surface of the light guidepart 11 in a y-direction; and a light guide source part irradiatinglight to an intermediate portion of the light guide part 11.

The light source part (see reference numeral 13 of FIG. 1) may includean LED light source that irradiates a single incident beam BL with afixed width from a direction crossing at right angles to an x-y plane tothe light guide part 11. A width of the single incident beam BL in anx-direction may be similar to an entire width of the light guide part 12in a pattern extension direction of one unit pattern.

The light guide part 11 may be substantially identical the light guidepart previously described with reference to FIG. 1 except for a patternstructure of the three-dimensional effect forming part 12.

The three-dimensional effect forming part 12 includes multiple unitpatterns 121 a, 121 b, 121 c, 121 d of four groups provided in differentregions of the light guide part 11. The three-dimensional effect formingpart 12 has a spaced part 17 among the respective patterns of the fourgroups.

More specifically, the unit patterns 121 a, 121 b, 121 c, or 121 d ofeach group of the three-dimensional effect forming part 12 may have aform in which multiple prism rod-like unit patterns each having a firstsurface, a second surface, and a third surface is sequentially arrangedin a line. The unit patterns of each group may have a prism rod form inwhich a lengthwise direction of the unit patterns extends in anx-direction, and may also have an uneven form in which a first surfaceof the unit patterns comes into contact with one surface of the lightguide part 11, and a second surface and a third surface of the unitpatterns are repeatedly arranged with a second surface and a thirdsurface of the adjacent other unit patterns.

The patterns 121 a, 121 b, 121 c, 121 d of four groups may be integrallyformed with the light guide part 11 by processing one surface of thelight guide part 11. When the first surface of the unit patterns of eachpattern is a surface resulting from arranging the unit patterns to beparallel to one surface of the light guide part 11, the first surfacebecomes an imaginary surface that integrally comes into contact with thelight guide part 11.

The second surface and the third surface of the unit patterns areinclined surfaces each having a fixed inclination angle with respect tothe first surface or the second surface of the light guide part 11. Thesecond surface and the third surface of the unit patterns are surfaceseach having an inclination angle and inclined on one surface of thelight guide part 11, so that line-shaped beams can be implemented byguiding an incident beam passing through the light guide part 11 tofirst paths through refraction and reflection from the inclinedsurfaces.

That is, the incident beam traveling in the inside of the light guidepart 11 and refracted and reflected from the inclined surfaces of theunit patterns extends from a first region A1 to a third region A3 via asecond region A2, and is emitted in a first surface direction or asecond surface direction of the light guide part 11. At this time, thebeam is converted into line-shaped beams of the first paths by anarrangement direction of the multiple unit patterns and an effect of theindirect light source.

In order to ensure a reflection or refraction property beyond a fixedvalue from the patterns of the three-dimensional effect forming part 12,each inclined surface of the unit patterns is provided as a shiny orsmooth mirror surface. A surface roughness Rz of the mirror surface maybe measured and calculated based on a ten-point median height roughnessusing a difference between an average height of five highest peaks andan average deep of five deepest valleys in the curve of a section for areflective surface. The surface roughness may be designed in a range ofabout 0.8 μm or less, preferably, 0.4 μm or less, more preferably 0.1 μmor less with regard to a standard length of 0.25 mm. When the surfaceroughness is more than a fixed value (e.g., 0.8 μm), a desiredreflection or refraction property of each pattern is reduced below acertain level, and accordingly, it may be difficult to properlyimplement a desired optical image.

Each of the spaced parts 17 extends in a direction parallel to adirection to which the line-shaped beams of the first paths travel, andis provided in a region between the adjacent patterns of two groups,namely, the region in which the patterns are not formed. That is, thespaced part 17 may extend from the first surface of the light guide part11 to a y-direction and may have a fixed width. This spaced part 17 maybe simultaneously formed with the patterns 121 a, 121 b, 121 c, 121 d ofthe three-dimensional effect forming part 12 during the process forforming the patterns of the multiple groups of the three-dimensionaleffect forming part 12 by processing one surface of the light guide part11.

In a case where the spaced part 17 is used, when a beam having a singlewidth is irradiated from a direction crossing at right angles to orcrossing a thickness direction (z-direction) of the light guide part 11to an x-direction of an intermediate portion of the second surface ofthe light guide part 11, the patterns of the multiple groups may convertan incident beam entered into the light guide part 11 into four pairs ofline-shaped beams, which are expressed in a state of being separatedfrom each other. The four pairs of line-shaped beams refer to multipleline-shaped beams traveling in a +y direction and a −y direction,respectively based on appropriately an intermediate portion of they-direction of the light guide part 11.

The line-shaped beams with a three-dimensional effect will be describedin greater detail as follows.

Referring to FIG. 10, the incident beams entered into the first regionA1 corresponding to the intermediate portion of the light guide part 11are reflected from the inside of the light guide part 11 and travel fromone side to the other side. At this time, the pattern 121 of thethree-dimensional effect forming part 12 disposed on one surface of thelight guide part 11 changes each traveling direction of the incidentbeams by refracting or reflecting the incident beams so that theincident beams can be emitted in a first surface direction toward whichthe first surface 111 of the light guide part 11 looks, or in a secondsurface direction toward which the second surface opposite to the firstsurface looks.

Here, the multiple unit patterns, which are sequentially arranged, serveas indirect light sources in which each optical path is graduallyincreased from the first region A1 to the third region A3 by reflectionand refraction of the incident beam. Accordingly, a first incident beamtraveling from the intermediate portion of the light guide part 11 to afirst side edge, and a second incident beam traveling from theintermediate portion to a second side edge are converted intoline-shaped beams emitted to the outside of the light guide part 11through the indirect light sources having a point light source form andsequentially arranged to have a length of the optical path which isgradually increased from the first region A1 to the third region A3 byreflection and refraction from each inclined surface of the unitpatterns. The line-shaped beams become indirect light sources which arepositioned farther away from a reference point or an observation pointof the outside according to an increase in the length of the opticalpath, and are expressed as three-dimensional line-shaped beams having aperceptional depth in their traveling directions.

In other words, when it is measured that a first indirect light sourceresulting from a first unit pattern located in the first region A1 ofthe light guide part 11 is positioned at a first distance L1 from thefirst unit pattern, it is observed that a second indirect light sourceLS2 resulting from a second unit pattern located in the second region A2is positioned at a second distance L2 which is longer than the firstdistance L1, and that a third indirect light source LS3 resulting from athird unit pattern located in the third region A3 is positioned at athird distance L3 which is longer than the second distance L2.Furthermore, according to a difference in optical paths resulting fromthe same light sources, the intensity of light (luminosity) of thesecond indirect light source LS2 is smaller than that of the firstindirect light source LS1 and is larger than that of the third indirectlight source LS3.

According to the aforesaid configuration, the lighting device 10D mayimplement optical images using three dimensional line-shaped beams froma standard point of the outside, the three dimensional line-shaped beamsshowing an increase in distance vector components and a reduction inluminance reduces in a direction of the pattern arrangement surface(first surface) of the light guide part 11, or in a direction crossingat right angles to the first surface 112.

Also, according to the present embodiment, when the bent portion isdisposed at the optical member formed by the light guide part 11 and thethree-dimensional effect forming part 12, the lighting device 10D mayimplement optical images having various shape as the lighting devicepreviously described with reference to FIG. 2, 4 or 6.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a lighting device according to stillanother embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 11, a lighting device 10E according to the presentembodiment of the disclosure includes: a light guide part 11; athree-dimensional effect forming part 12; and a light source part. Thethree-dimensional effect forming part 12 includes patterns of multiplegroups which are sequentially arranged in different regions of the lightguide part in a y-direction, and barrier ribs 18 formed between theadjacent pattern groups and extending in the y-direction of the lightguide part 11.

When a beam is irradiated from a thickness direction (z-direction) ofthe light guide part 11 or an inclined direction with respect to thethickness direction to an intermediate portion of a y-direction of thelight guide part 11, the lighting device 10E according the presentembodiment of the disclosure may convert the beam into four pairs ofline-shaped beam extending in each pattern arrangement direction of thepattern groups of the three-dimensional effect forming part 12 byrefracting and reflecting the beam inside the light guide part 11through patterns of four groups.

The three-dimensional effect forming part 12 may be provided by removinga part of one surface of the light guide part 11, but is not limitedthereto. The three-dimensional effect forming part may be provided bybonding of a separate pattern layer having multiple patterns on onesurface of the light guide part 11. In this case, a refractive index ofthe pattern layer may be designed to be identical to that of the lightguide part 11 or to have a fixed difference (about 0.2 or less) inrefractive indexes with the light guide part 11.

Each pattern group of the three-dimensional effect forming part 12includes unit patterns 121 a, 121 b, 121 c, 121 d in a semicylindricalrod form. Each of the unit patterns of each pattern group have a rodform having a semicircumferential surface or a plane surface facing thesemicircumferential surface. Here, the plane surfaces of thesemicylindrical rod may be arranged to come into contact with onesurface of the light guide part, and the semicircumferential surfacesmay be sequentially arranged in parallel to the y-direction.

Each of the barrier walls 18 is a portion in which the patterns of thethree-dimensional effect forming part 12 are not provided. This portionmay be provided as one portion of the light guide part 11, or may beprovided by disposing a separate member between the adjacent patterngroups. The barrier walls 18 may be made of a material having adifferent refractive index, color, and the like from those of thethree-dimensional effect forming part 12. When these barrier walls 18are used, the single incident beam may be split and expressed inmultiple line-shaped beams.

According to the present embodiment, when a beam is irradiated from athickness direction of the light guide part or an inclined directionwith respect to the thickness to an intermediate portion of onedirection of the light guide part, by guiding the incident beams insidethe light guide part in a first surface direction or a second directionof the light guide part through sequential reflection and refractionfrom each inclined surface of the unit patterns, multiple line-shapedbeams of first paths crossing at right angles to each patternarrangement direction of the unit patterns may be implemented. Themultiple line-shaped beams include at least one pair of line-shaped beamtraveling from the intermediate portion of the light guide part in bothsides of the intermediate portion.

Also, according to the present embodiment, when a bent portion isdisposed in an optical member composed of the light guide part 11 andthe three-dimensional effect forming part 12, like the lighting devicepreviously described with reference to FIG. 2, 4 or 6, the lightingdevice 10E may implement optical images having various shapes.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a lighting device according to stillanother embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 12, a lighting device 10F according to the presentembodiment includes: a light guide part 11; a three-dimensional effectforming part 12; and a light source part.

The three-dimensional effect forming part 12 has the patterns thatextend in an x-direction of the light guide part 11 and are sequentiallyarranged in a y-direction. That is, in the lighting device 10F accordingto the present embodiment, the three-dimensional effect forming part 12includes multiple unit patterns 121 of a single group that are notdivided into unit patterns of multiple groups by a spaced part orbarrier rib, and have no spaced part or barrier rib extending from anintermediate portion of a patter extension direction to each patternarrangement direction.

The lighting device 10F of the present embodiment may be identical tothe lighting device previously described with reference to FIG. 8 or 11except for a pattern structure of the three-dimensional effect formingpart 12. Thus, the detailed description of the same or similarconstitutive elements is omitted.

In the present embodiment, each of the unit patterns 121 of thethree-dimensional effect forming part 12 has a quadrangular rod form ora trapezoidal section form having a first surface 1211, a second surface1212, a third surface 1213, and a fourth surface 1214. The multiple unitpatterns 121 on one surface of the light guide part 11 are placed tohave a lengthwise direction toward an x-direction (pattern extensiondirection), and are sequentially arranged in a y-direction.

With regard to each of the unit patterns 121, the first surface 1211 maybe arranged parallel to the first surface or the second surface of thelight guide part 11. The second surface 1213 may be parallel to or maynot be parallel to the first surface 1211. The third surface 1212 andthe fourth surface 1214 may be inclined surfaces inclined at a fixedinclination angle with respect to the first surface 1211.

When the third surface 1213 is disposed to be parallel to the secondsurface of the light guide part 11 or the pattern arrangement surface,the third surface 1213 may not serve as an indirect light source in thethree-dimensional effect forming part 12, and may be a portion that cutsoff the line-shaped beams (hereinafter referred to as ‘disconnectionpart’). This disconnection part may be appropriately used when anoptical image is implemented as line-shaped beams in a dotted line form.When continual line-shaped beams are implemented, the disconnection partis set to have a thickness of about 10 μm.

When the third surface 1213 is not parallel to the pattern arrangementsurface of the light guide part 11, and is disposed to have a fixedinclination angle with respect to the pattern arrangement surface of thelight guide part 11, the third surface 1213 may be an inclined surfacethat refracts and reflects the incident beams with the second surface1212 or the fourth surface 1214 and guides the incident beams in a firstsurface direction or a second surface direction.

The lighting device 10F according to the present embodiment may includea light source having a plurality of LED elements arranged in anx-direction and irradiating multiple beams to an intermediate portion ofa y-direction. In this case, the lighting device 10F may implementoptical images including multiple pairs of line-shaped beams with athree-dimensional effect traveling from the intermediate portion of they-direction to both sides using the unit patterns of thethree-dimensional effect forming part 12 as the lighting device of FIG.8 or 11.

Meanwhile, the lighting device 10F including the multiple unit patterns121 according to the present embodiment has a structure in which eachpattern extension direction of the multiple unit patterns 121 extends inan x-direction parallel to each other, but is not limited thereto. Forexample, in a modified example, the lighting device 10F may includemultiple unit patterns designed such that a width of the section of atleast one unit pattern is gradually increased from one end of thex-direction of the unit pattern to the other end so that an optical pathis curved or is bent based on a fixed point of one end of thex-direction.

According to the present embodiment, when a beam is irradiated from athickness direction of the light guide part or an inclined directionwith respect to the thickness direction to an intermediate portion ofone direction of the light guide part, by guiding the incident beamsinside the light guide part into a first surface direction or a secondsurface direction of the light guide part by sequential reflection andrefraction from each inclined surface of the unit patterns, the multipleline-shaped beams of the first paths parallel to each other andextending in a direction crossing at right angles to each patternextension direction of the unit patterns may be implemented.

Also, according to the present embodiment, when a bent portion disposedin an optical member composed of the light guide part 11 and thethree-dimensional effect forming part 12, like the lighting deviceillustrated in FIG. 2, 4 or 6, optical images having various shapes maybe implemented by multiple pairs of line-shaped beams.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a lighting device according to still anotherembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 13, a lighting device 10G according to the presentembodiment includes: a light guide part 11; first to thirdthree-dimensional effect forming parts 12 a, 12 b, 12 c; first to thirdlight source parts 20 a, 20 b, 20 c; and an outer lens 30.

The light guide part 11 is provided in a fixed vehicle lamp form whenviewed from a plane or a front surface. Here, the vehicle lamp may beany one of a headlight, a backlight, an indoor light, a door scuff, afog lamp, and the like without being limited thereto. The light guidepart 11 may be identical to the light guide part of FIG. 1, 8, 11, or 12except for a shape or form thereof.

The first three-dimensional effect forming part 12 a is provided in afirst region of the light guide part 11. The multiple unit patterns 121a of the first three-dimensional effect forming part 12 a extend fromthe first region to a first A direction and are sequentially arranged ina first B direction crossing the first A direction or crossing at rightangles to the first A direction. Each of the unit patterns 121 a has aninclined surface having a first inclination angle with respect to apattern arrangement surface of the light guide part 11 in the first Bdirection.

The second three-dimensional effect forming part 12 b is provided in asecond region of the light guide part 11. The second region does notoverlap with the first region. The multiple unit patterns 121 b of thesecond three-dimensional effect forming part 12 b extend from the secondregion to a second A direction and are sequentially arranged in a secondB direction crossing the second A direction or crossing at right anglesto the second A direction. The second A direction may not be parallel tothe first A direction, and the second B direction may not be parallel tothe first B direction. Each of the unit patterns 121 b has an inclinedsurface having a second inclination angle with respect to a patternarrangement surface of the of the light guide part 11 in the second 2Bdirection. The second inclination angle may be identical to or differentfrom the first inclination angle.

The third three-dimensional effect forming part 12 c is provided in athird region of the light guide part 11. The third region does notoverlap with the first region and the second region. The multiple unitpatterns 121 c of the third three-dimensional effect forming part 12 cextend from the third region to a third A direction, and aresequentially arranged in a third B direction crossing the third Adirection or crossing at right angles to the third A direction. Thethird A direction may not be parallel to the first A direction or thesecond A direction, and the third B direction may not be parallel to thefirst 1B direction or the second B direction. Each of the unit patterns121 c has an inclined surface having a third inclination angle withrespect to a pattern arrangement surface of the light guide part 11 inthe third B direction. The third inclination angle may be identical toat least any one of the first inclination angle and the secondinclination angle, or may be different from both the first inclinationangle and the second inclination angle.

A first light source part 132 a is disposed to irradiate light to anintermediate portion of the first region. The first region of the lightguide part 11 may be inclined or bent with respect to the first lightsource part 132 a (see FIGS. 7 and 9). A second light source part 132 bis disposed to irradiate light to an intermediate portion of the secondregion. The second region of the light guide part 11 may be inclined orbent with respect to the second light source part 132 b. Furthermore, athird light source part 132 c is disposed to irradiate light to anintermediate portion of the third region. The third region of the lightguide part 11 may be inclined or bent with respect to the third lightsource part 132 b.

The first to third light source parts 132 a, 132 b, 132 c may have alight source supported on one surface of an outer lens 30 by a housingof the light device 10G to which the outer lens 30 is connected. Here,at least any one light source of the first to third light source parts132 a, 132 b, 132 c may be provided using at least one optical modulewith a three-dimensional effect along with the light guide part 11 andthe three-dimensional effect forming part. Furthermore, at least oneoptical member composed of at least any one of the first to thirdthree-dimensional effect forming parts 12 a, 12 b, 12 c, and at leastone portion of the light guide part 11 may be bonded to one surface ofthe outer lens 30, or may be disposed on one surface of the outer lens30. When the lighting device is implemented as a vehicle lamp, therespective light source parts may be connected to a vehicle battery 19and may be operated by power of the vehicle battery.

When the first to third light source part 132 a, 132 b, 132 c have aflexible printed circuit board, and the light guide part 11 is formedwith a resin layer, the lighting device 10G may be bonded to one surfaceof the outer lens 20 having a curved surface, or may be disposed to bebent while having at least one inflection point along a curved surfaceof the outer lens 20.

According to the aforesaid configuration, the beams of the respectivelight source parts 132 a, 132 b, 132 c are irradiated from a thicknessdirection of the light guide part 11 or a direction inclined withrespect to the thickness direction to each intermediate portion of theregions of the light guide parts, the unit patterns 121 a, 121 b, 121 cof the three-dimensional effect forming part express line-shaped beamsGL by guiding and limiting the incident beams in both directions of thepattern arrangement direction. Of course, the third to thirdthree-dimensional effect forming parts may implement line-shaped beamsextending in one direction rather than both directions of a patternarrangement direction according to a relative arrangement design withthe light source.

Also, in the lighting device 10G according to the present embodiment, atleast one of a first optical member provide with the light guide part 11and the first three-dimensional effect forming part 12 a, a secondoptical member provided with the light guide part 11 and the secondthree-dimensional effect forming part 12 b, and a third optical memberprovided with the light guide part 11 and the third three-dimensionaleffect forming part 12 c may be bent to have a curvature or a curvedsurface. In this case, the lighting device 10G may implement opticalimages of various line-shaped beams using the bent portion as thelighting device of FIG. 2, 4, or 6. Moreover, in addition the vehiclelamp, the lighting device 10G according to the present embodiment may beeasily used in a general indoor and outdoor lighting device, a lightingdevice having a design used in an exhibition and the like, a flexibleapplication production, and the like.

FIGS. 14 to 16 are exemplary views showing patterns which can be adoptedto the lighting device of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 14, the three-dimensional effect forming part 12 ofthe lighting device according to the present embodiment has a pattern,wherein the pattern has multiple unit patterns 121. Each of the unitpatterns 121 has a triangular section form.

When each of the unit patterns 121 has the triangular section form, eachinclined surface 123 of the unit patterns 121 has a fixed inclinationangle with respect to the first surface or a pattern arrangement surface(see reference numeral 111 of FIG. 1). In other words, the inclinedsurface 123 may have an inclination angle θ inclined with respect to thez-direction that crosses at right angles to the pattern arrangementsurface.

The inclination angle θ is larger than about 5° and smaller than 85°.The inclination angle θ may be further limited in consideration of arefractive index of the light guide part. However, when consideringreflection and refraction from the inclined surface 123 beyond a certainlevel, the inclination angle θ may be appropriately designed in a rangeof about 5° to about 85°.

When a refractive index of the light guide part is about 1.30 to about1.80, the inclination angle of the inclined surface of one side of theunit pattern 121 may be larger than 33.7° and smaller than 50.3°, or maybe larger than 49.7° and smaller than 56.3° according to each standarddirection (the z-direction or the y-direction).

Also, the optical member formed with the light guide part and themultiple unit patterns may be provided using a material having ahigh-refractive index. For example, in the case of manufacturing highintensity LEDs, when a ray of light having a specific incidence anglepenetrates a capsule material by passing along a semiconductor die,total internal reflection is performed due to a difference in an n value(a refractive index) between the semiconductor die (n=2.50˜3.50) and ageneral polymeric capsule element (n=1.40˜1.60), and accordingly, lightextraction efficiency of the device is reduced. Thus, in order toproperly solve this problem, a high refractive index polymer(n=1.80˜2.50) is used. In the present embodiment, the optical member maybe provided by utilizing the high refractive index polymer (n=1.80˜2.50)used in manufacturing high intensity LEDs. In this case, the inclinationangle of the inclined surface 123 of each unit pattern 121 may be largerthan 23.6° and smaller than about 56.3°, or may be larger than 33.7° andsmaller than 66.4° according to each refractive index of the opticalmember.

Also, according to some embodiments, in order to adjust a refractiveindex, at least one functional layer having a high refractive index maybe coated on the multiple unit patterns.

An inclination angle according to the refractive index may berepresented by following Equation 1 according to the Snell's law.

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{\sin \; \theta_{1}}{\sin \; \theta_{2}} = \frac{n\; 2}{n\; 1}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 1} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In Equation 1, sin θ1 is a traveling angle or an incidence angle oflight shown in a first medium of a first refractive index n1, and sin θ2is an incidence angle or a traveling angle of light shown in a secondmedium of a second refractive index n2.

As previously described, the inclined surface of each of the multipleunit patterns in the present embodiment may be provided to have aninclination angle θ ranging from about 5° to about 85° as an inclinationangle which enables an incident beam to be reflected or refractedappropriately. In one embodiment, in addition to the inclination angleof the inclined surface, each of the unit patterns 121 may be configuredsuch that a rate of a width w to a height h is limited to a fixed ratefor convenience of a production process. The width of each bottomsurface of the unit patterns may correspond to a cycle or a pitch ofeach unit pattern.

For example, when the patterns of the three-dimensional effect formingpart are designed so that a three-dimensional effect of the line-shapedbeams can be emphasized, the width w of each of the patterns 121 may beprovided to be identical to or smaller than a height h of each of theunit patterns. Also, when the patterns of the three-dimensional effectforming part are designed so that the line-shaped beams can expressrelatively long images, the width w of each of the unit patterns may beprovided to be larger than the height h of each of the unit patterns.Also, when each of the multiple pattern 121 has a lenticular form, arate (h/w) of a width (or a diameter) to a height of each of themultiple patterns 121 may be about ½ or less. At this time, aninclination angle θ of each inclined surface of the unit patterns may beabout 45° or less.

As such, in the present embodiment, by using the width w and the heighth of each unit pattern as factors for property adjustment, opticalimages of the line shaped beams or the three-dimensional effect beamhaving desired designs may be efficiently controlled.

According to the present embodiment, the width w (which may correspondto a pitch) between two adjacent unit patterns in the three-dimensionaleffect forming portion 21 may be 10 to 500 μm. This width w may refer toan average distance between the multiple patterns of the first paths,and may be adjusted according to each pattern design or each desiredshape of optical images.

Referring to FIG. 15, when designing the pattern of thethree-dimensional effect forming part 12 of the lighting deviceaccording to the present embodiment, each of the multiple unit patternsmay be provided to have a semicircular or semielliptical section form.Each unit pattern 121 has an inclined surface inclined at a fixed anglein a thickness direction (z-direction) of the light guide part or ay-direction. The unit patterns 121 may have a symmetrical form based ona center line (not drawn) in a z-direction, but the present disclosureis not limited thereto.

In the present embodiment, the inclined surface of each unit pattern 121may be considered as an imaginary inclined surface on a circumscribedstraight line with regard to a semicircular sectional structure of theunit patterns. The inclined surface may have an inclination angle θ thatis changed along a semicircular external surface and is larger thanlarger than 0° and smaller than 90°. That is, since each inclinedsurface of the unit patterns 121 is an inclined surface that comes incontact with an arbitrary point and has appropriately a semicircular arcshape, the inclined surface may have the inclination angle θ which is anacute angle.

Also, the three-dimensional effect forming part 12 of the presentembodiment may include a spaced part 102 provided between the adjacentunit patterns. That is, when the multiple unit patterns include a firstpattern Cm−1, a second pattern Cm and a third pattern Cm+1 (wherein, mis a natural number of 2 or more), the three-dimensional effect formingportion 12 may include spaced parts 102 provided between the firstpattern Cm−1 and the second pattern Cm, and between the second patternCm and the third pattern Cm+1.

Each of the spaced parts 102 may be a part of the first surface 111positioned between two adjacent patterns as a part of the first surface111 of the light guide part in which the unit patterns are not formed.Also, the spaced part may be provided for convenience of a manufacturingprocess as a gap between two adjacent patterns. The spaced parts 102 maybe omitted according to a manufacturing process or a pattern design ofspecific implementation.

A second width w1 of the spaced part 102 is smaller than a first width wof the unit pattern 121. The second width w1 of the spaced part 102 ismay be about ⅕ or less or several μm or less of the first width w of theunit pattern 121. At this time, a cycle or a pitch of the unit patternsmay correspond to a value resulting from adding the first width w andthe second width W1.

Referring to FIG. 16, when designing patterns of the three-dimensionalforming part 12 of the lighting device according to the presentembodiment, the unit patterns 121 may have a polygonal section form.Each of the inclined surfaces of the unit patterns 121 may have abroken-line graph-like shape.

In the present embodiment, each of the inclined surfaces 123 of the unitpatterns 121 may be provided so as to have multiple inclination angles81, 82 according to the number of segments of the broken-line graph inthe direction (z-direction) crossing at right angles to the firstsurface of the light guide part. The second inclination angle θ2 may belarger than the first inclination angle θ1. The first and secondinclination angles 81, 82 may be designed within the range of theinclination angle which is larger than about 5° and smaller than about85°.

Also, the three-dimensional effect forming part 12 of the presentembodiment may further include the spaced part 102 between two adjacentunit patterns. A width w1 of the spaced part 102 is smaller than thewidth w of each of the unit patterns so that natural line-shaped beamscan be implemented via the three-dimensional forming part 12. The widthw1 of the spaced portion 102 may be designed in several μm or less. Thewidth w1 of the spaced part 102 may be designed to be narrow maximallyor the spaced part 102 may be omitted.

Also, the three-dimensional effect forming part 12 may have adisconnection surface 125 parallel to the first surface 111 on the unitpatterns 121. The disconnection surface 125 is a part which does notfunction to enable an incident beam to be substantially emitted to theoutside through the reflection or refraction of the incident beam. Thus,since line-shaped beams implemented by the multiple unit patterns may bedisconnected at a portion corresponding to the disconnection surface125, a width w2 of the disconnection surface 125 may be appropriatelydesigned in a range of several μm or less so that line-shaped beamshaving a desired shape can be implemented.

As set forth above, according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, as an optical path and an optical width are controlled by apattern design, and an arrangement structure of patterns and a lightsources is designed, the lighting device in a flexible sheet form mayimplement optical images having a three-dimensional effect byirradiating a beam to the intermediate portion of the light guide parthaving patterns, or by irradiating a beam to the intermediate portion ofthe light guide part disposed to be inclined.

Also, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, as alighting device having a flexible structure on a sheet, the lightingdevice may be efficiently applied to a flat surface or a curved portionof an inner or outer side of an object targeted for installingillumination such as a building, equipment, furniture, vehicle, and thelike.

In other words, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure,the lighting device may implement optical images of line-shaped beamshaving a three-dimensional effect and various forms according to arelative position of the light sources and patterns, or an inclinationor curvature of the light guide part. Furthermore, thanks to a flexiblesheet-shaped structure, the lighting device may be easily applied to acurved portion of an inner or outer side, or a bent portion of an objecttargeted for installing illumination such as a building, equipment,furniture, vehicle, and the like. Also, as a vehicle lamp (a headlight,a backlight, a fog light, an indoor light, a door scuff, and the like),the lighting device for a vehicle having a flexible sheet form may beadvantageous in various aspects, such as a volume, a thickness, aweight, a price, a lifespan, stability, the degree of freedom in design,installation easiness, and the like.

As previously described, in the detailed description of the disclosure,having described the detailed exemplary embodiments of the disclosure,it should be apparent that modifications and variations can be made bypersons skilled without deviating from the spirit or scope of thedisclosure. Therefore, it is to be understood that the foregoing isillustrative of the present disclosure and is not to be construed aslimited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications tothe disclosed embodiments, as well as other embodiments, are intended tobe included within the scope of the appended claims and theirequivalents.

An aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure may provide alighting device capable of implementing an optical image having athree-dimensional effect and a desired form by controlling an opticalpath and an optical width through a pattern design and an arrangementstructure of a pattern and a light source.

Another aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure may provide alighting device capable of implementing an optical image having athree-dimensional effect through a pattern design and an arrangementstructure of a pattern and a light source, and capable of having aflexible sheet form.

According to an aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, alighting device may include: a light guide part having a first surfaceand a second surface opposite to the first surface; a three-dimensionaleffect forming part on the light guide part; and a light source partirradiating a beam from a thickness direction of the light guide part toan intermediate portion of the light guide part, wherein thethree-dimensional effect forming part comprises a pattern havingmultiple unit patterns that are sequentially arranged and have inclinedsurfaces each having an inclination angle with respect to the firstsurface or the second surface, wherein the multiple unit patterns of thepattern guide incident beams in the light guide part into a firstsurface direction toward which the first surface looks, or into a secondsurface direction toward which the second surface looks throughreflection and refraction from the inclined surfaces, therebyimplementing line-shaped beams of first paths crossing at right anglesto each pattern extension direction of the multiple unit patterns.

In one embodiment, the multiple unit patterns may include a first unitpattern, a second unit pattern, and a third unit pattern that aresequentially arranged and have a first distance corresponding to thenearest distance to a first region in which a beam of a light source ofthe light source part is incident from an outer portion of the lightguide part into an inner portion, a second distance which is longer thanthe first distance, and a third distance which is longer than the seconddistance, respectively, wherein the second distance between a seconddummy light source resulting from an inclined surface of the second unitpattern, and the inclined surface of the second unit pattern is longerthan the first distance between a first dummy light source resultingfrom an inclined surface of the first unit pattern, and the inclinedsurface of the first unit pattern, and is shorter than the thirddistance between a third dummy light source resulting from an inclinedsurface of the third unit pattern, and the inclined surface of the thirdunit pattern.

In one embodiment, the pattern may convert the incident beams into afirst line-shaped beam extending from an intermediate portion of thelight guide part to a first side edge, and a second line-shaped beamextending from the intermediate portion to a second side edge facing thefirst side edge.

The inclined surface may include a mirror surface or a mirror-likefinishing surface.

The inclined surface may have an arithmetic mean roughness (Ra) of 0.02or less and a maximum height roughness (Ry) of 0.30 or less.

A cycle or a pitch of the multiple unit patterns may range from 10 to500 μm.

The pattern extension directions of the multiple unit patterns may beparallel to each other.

The light guide part may include a bent portion bent in its thicknessdirection.

The bent portion may be arranged in a first region in which a beam ofthe light source part is incident from an outer portion of the lightguide part to an inner portion.

The bent portion may be arranged at an outer portion of the first regionin which the beam of the light source part is incident from the outerportion of the light guide part to the inner portion.

A material of the light guide part may include resin or glass, whereinthe resin includes a thermoplastic polymer or a photo curable polymer.

The three-dimensional effect forming part may be integrally formed withthe light guide part by processing at least one of the first surface andthe second surface of the light guide part.

The three-dimensional effect forming part may be provided using apattern layer bonded to at least one of the first surface and the secondsurface of the light guide part.

The three-dimensional effect forming part may include multiple unitpatterns of a first group provided in different regions of the lightguide part, and multiple unit patterns of a second group.

A first pattern extension direction of at least one of the multiple unitpatterns of the first group may be different from a second patternextension direction of at least one of the multiple unit patterns of thesecond group.

The lighting device may further include a pattern disconnection portionor a barrier rib between the multiple patterns of the first group andthe multiple patterns of the second group.

The light source part may include a first light source irradiating anincident beam to the multiple unit patterns of the first group, and asecond light source irradiating an incident beam to the multiple unitpatterns of the second group.

The first light source and the second light source may be LED packageseach having at least one LED (Light Emitting Diode) element.

The lighting device may further include a housing supporting the lightsource part or the light guide part.

The lighting device may further include a driving part connected to thehousing and intended for enabling the light guide part to be inclined orto be bent.

The lighting device may further include an outer lens covering the lightguide part.

The light source part may be connected to a vehicle battery.

According to another aspect of the embodiments of the presentdisclosure, a lighting device may include: a light guide part having afirst surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; athree-dimensional effect forming part on the light guide part; and alight source part irradiating a beam from a direction inclined withrespect to the first surface or the second surface to the light guidepart, wherein the three-dimensional effect forming part comprises apattern having multiple unit patterns that are sequentially arranged andhave inclined surfaces each having an inclination angle with respect tothe first surface or the second surface, wherein the multiple unitpatterns of the pattern guide incident beams in the light guide partinto a first surface direction toward which the first surface looks, orinto a second surface direction toward which the second surface looksthrough reflection and refraction from the inclined surfaces, therebyimplementing line-shaped beams of first paths crossing at right anglesto each pattern extension direction of the multiple unit patterns.

Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. Theappearances of such phrases in various places in the specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within thepurview of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, orcharacteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawingsand the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications inthe component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A lighting device, comprising: a transparentsubstrate having a first surface and an opposite second surface; anarray of three-dimensional elements disposed on the transparentsubstrate; and a light source projecting light into the transparentsubstrate along a thickness direction of the transparent substrate,wherein each of the three-dimensional elements includes surfacesinclined at an angle with respect to at least one of the first surfaceor the second surface, wherein a light from the light source incident onthe transparent substrate is at least one of refracted and reflectedtowards and projected out of the first surface or the second surface,wherein the three-dimensional elements are arranged in a first directionand extended in a second direction which intersects to the firstdirection, wherein each of the three-dimensional elements includesmultiple unit patterns and spaced parts disposed between the multipleunit patterns, wherein the multiple unit patterns are arranged in thesecond direction.
 2. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein thethree-dimensional elements guide incident beams in the transparentsubstrate into a first surface direction toward which the first surfacelooks, or into a second surface direction toward which the secondsurface looks through reflection and refraction from the inclinedsurfaces, thereby implementing line-shaped beams of first paths crossingat right angles to each extension direction of the three-dimensionalelements, and the three-dimensional elements comprise a first unitelement, a second unit element, and a third unit element that aresequentially arranged and have a first distance corresponding to thenearest distance to a first region in which a beam of the light sourceis incident from an outer portion of the transparent substrate into aninner portion, a second distance which is longer than the firstdistance, and a third distance which is longer than the second distance,respectively, wherein the second distance between a second dummy lightsource resulting from an inclined surface of the second unit element,and the inclined surface of the second unit element is longer than thefirst distance between a first dummy light source resulting from aninclined surface of the first unit element, and the inclined surface ofthe first unit element, and is shorter than the third distance between athird dummy light source resulting from an inclined surface of the thirdunit element, and the inclined surface of the third unit element.
 3. Thelighting device of claim 2, wherein the three-dimensional elementsconvert the incident beams into a first line-shaped beam extending froman intermediate portion of the transparent substrate to a first sideedge, and a second line-shaped beam extending from the intermediateportion to a second side edge facing the first side edge.
 4. Thelighting device of claim 3, wherein the inclined surface comprises amirror surface or a mirror-like finishing surface.
 5. The lightingdevice of claim 1, wherein the spaced parts are arranged in the seconddirection and extended in the first direction, wherein the spaced partsinclude a flat surface.
 6. The lighting device of claim 1, whereinwidths of the multiple unit patterns are larger than widths of thespaced parts in the second direction.
 7. The lighting device of claim 1,wherein the multiple unit patterns are integrally formed with thetransparent substrate.
 8. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein thelight guide part comprises a bent portion bent in its thicknessdirection.
 9. The lighting device of claim 8, wherein the bent portionis arranged in a first region in which a beam of the light source isincident from an outer portion of the transparent substrate to an innerportion.
 10. The lighting device of claim 8, wherein the bent portion isarranged at an outer portion of the first region in which the beam ofthe light source is incident from the outer portion of the transparentsubstrate to the inner portion.
 11. The lighting device of claim 1,wherein a material of the transparent substrate includes resin or glass,wherein the resin includes a thermoplastic polymer or a photo curablepolymer.
 12. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein thethree-dimensional elements is integrally formed with the transparentsubstrate by processing at least one of the first surface and the secondsurface of the transparent substrate.
 13. The lighting device of claim1, wherein the three-dimensional elements is provided using a layerbonded to at least one of the first surface and the second surface ofthe transparent substrate.
 14. The lighting device of claim 1, whereinthe three-dimensional elements comprises elements of a first groupprovided in different regions of the transparent substrate, and elementsof a second group.
 15. The lighting device of claim 14, wherein a firstextension direction of at least one of the elements of the first groupis different from a second extension direction of at least one of theelements of the second group.
 16. The lighting device of claim 14,further comprising a disconnection portion or a barrier rib between theelements of the first group and the elements of the second group. 17.The lighting device of claim 14, wherein the light source comprises afirst light source irradiating an incident beam to the elements of thefirst group, and a second light source irradiating an incident beam tothe elements of the second group.
 18. The lighting device of claim 17,wherein the first light source and the second light source are LEDpackages each having at least one LED (Light Emitting Diode) element.19. The lighting device of claim 1, further comprising a housingsupporting the light source or the transparent substrate.
 20. Thelighting device of claim 19, further comprising a driving part connectedto the housing and intended for enabling the transparent substrate to beinclined or to be bent.
 21. The lighting device of claim 1, furthercomprising an outer lens covering the transparent substrate.
 22. Thelighting device of claim 21, wherein the light source is connected to avehicle battery.
 23. A lighting device, comprising: a transparentsubstrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite to thefirst surface; a three-dimensional elements on the transparentsubstrate; and a light source irradiating a beam from a directioninclined with respect to the first surface or the second surface to thetransparent substrate, wherein each of the three-dimensional elementsincludes surfaces inclined at an angle with respect to at least one ofthe first surface or the second surface, wherein light from the lightsource incident on the transparent substrate is at least one ofrefracted and reflected towards and projected out of the first surfaceor the second surface, wherein the three-dimensional elements arearranged in a first direction and extended in a second direction whichintersects to the first direction, wherein each of the three-dimensionalelements includes multiple unit patterns and spaced parts disposedbetween the multiple unit patterns, wherein the multiple unit patternsare arranged in the second direction.